These past ten years have been an incredible journey. From my diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2003, to the chemo that damaged my heart and left me with dilated cardiomyopathy in 2004, to the heart transplant that saved my life this past January, life has been a series of dramatic ups and downs that culminated in my running the Philadelphia Half Marathon this past November while raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through their “Team In Training”.
Did I use the word “culminated”? My mistake — I wouldn’t want anyone to get the idea that the journey is over. I have joined my friends at Team In Training again, but decided to up-the-ante by joining the triathlon team. Yep, you read that right: on April 29, 2012, I will be participating in the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida. The race consists of a .93 mile swim, a 25.85 mile bike ride, and finally, a 6.21 mile run. Since I started out 2011 re-learning to walk by hobbling from one end of my kitchen to the other, saying this race will be a challenge for me is like saying my wife has a mild affinity for the occasional shopping trip. If I’m being completely honest, this race is a frightening proposition. The last time I pushed myself that hard athletically was, well… never. That being said, I’m excited by the challenge. I love the fact that my next step on this journey follows in the footsteps of the others that made this trip and funded the cancer research that helped save me. Through their efforts, I am here to help those that will unfortunately share similar struggles in their own fight with cancer.
My being here is a gift that I don’t take lightly. Surviving cancer is never promised, but for the lucky ones like me, survival alone is not enough. Cancer sucks, and the treatments required to continue to fight, although improving, aren’t much better. Having been through that gauntlet, my goal is to live life to it’s fullest and enjoy the gift that I’ve been given. Anything less would be an insult to those that didn’t make it, and to those that have given so much to make sure that I did.
For those that donated to my last effort in the Philly Marathon, thank you so much – your donations make a world of difference for people suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I hope you’ll choose to join me in this next effort. For those that didn’t have the opportunity last time, won’t you please help me stand up for those that can’t stand for themselves? I can tell you from personal experience that the outlook for cancer treatment today is so much better than it was just 10 years ago, and the way that happens is by funding the research that improves the treatment, improves patients’ quality of life, and ultimately finds a cure for this horrible disease.
Please donate now and help advance the research for cures.
As always, thanks for everything,
Derek
